Margaret River Pro: Surfers hit the water amid high shark security

The world’s best surfers are in the water for the Margaret River Pro this morning, with a flotilla of jet skis, a drone circling overhead and a Fisheries Department boat all on the lookout for sharks.

One-metre waves, offshore winds and sunny skies greeted competitors for a 7.30am start in the South West, with the women’s first round underway mid morning and the men expected to hit the water later today.

The event is tipped to be a tourism bonanza for the region, showcasing WA to an audience of hundreds of thousands of viewers around the world tuning into the live online stream.

Shark safety is a top priority, with no less than seven jet skis in the water at Margaret River’s Surfers Point alongside the Fisheries vessel Hamelin.

A shark-spotting drone is also being used for the first time at the Pro to watch for sharks, while a mobile acoustic receiver has been dropped in the water to detect any tagged sharks that swim nearby.

Two non-fatal shark attacks on recreational surfers Alejandro Travaglini and Jason Longrass last year at Gracetown, about 15km from the Margaret River Pro at Surfers Point, threw the future of the event into doubt.

At the time, Brazilian professional surfers Gabriel Medina and Italo Ferreira took to Twitter to say they felt unsafe in the water and did not want to return, and the event was cancelled amid speculation the World Surf League would dump Margaret River from the elite professional circuit.

But the event is back this year thanks to a sponsorship deal with the WA Government, which negotiated a contract until 2021.

Camera IconJet skis patrolling the water at Margaret River’s Surfers Point near a Fisheries Department acoustic bouy used to detect tagged sharks.Picture: Daniel Wilkins

And the extra safety measures seem to be working, with the sport’s top athletes saying they feel comfortable competing.

Local hero Bronte Macaulay, who is the only West Australian on the sport’s elite world tour and will hit the water for her first round heat later this morning, said she was disappointed in all the talk of sharks.

“It seems crazy to me how (sharks) are even a factor. I surf here every day and I feel so comfortable. It sucks how it takes away from how beautiful the area is,” she said.

Former Margaret River Pro winner and 2017 world champion John Florence said: “We have sharks in Hawaii, there are sharks in South Africa, sharks kind of everywhere we go. When you go out there you know you’re stepping into their territory (but) I’ve always felt pretty safe here. I haven’t seen anything in the water, just a couple of dolphins.”

At a press conference to launch the event on Tuesday, 11-time world surfing champion Kelly Slater, who hails from Florida in the US, said he was unfazed by sharks in WA because “there are big fish everywhere in the world”.

“I grew up around them and never had much of a fear of sharks. All surfers understand. It’s an unrealistic fear, statistically. I don’t concern myself much about it,” he said.

Australian Stephanie Gilmore, the current women’s world No. 1 and a seven-time world crown winner, said she felt “extremely safe, especially during the event with all the extra jet skis and boats and drones”.

“I definitely accept it. I don’t really freak out. I have respect for the creatures that are out there, it’s their home and we’re playing in it,” she said.

Gilmore lost her first round heat this morning and now must win a sudden-death round two encounter to stay in the competition.

Tourism Minister Paul Papalia was determined to avoid any negativity around sharks, claiming that Margaret River had the “safest bit of water on the planet” and he “never thought there was any concern about safety”.